Tips and advice for having a great garage sale
May 17, 2009 - The weather is getting warmer, the sun is (mostly) shining, it’s Spring and what better time to go through the closets and garage and not only get rid of the stuff you don’t use anymore but make some money by selling it. That’s right it’s time to plan that time-old American tradition called the garage sale.
Planning a garage sale will take a bit of work and you will feel like the day is never going to end. When it does end though, you will have a bit of extra cash and all the stuff you deemed useless will be gone. That is a good thing.
Signs
The most important thing in having a successful garage sale is to advertise it. Websites, newspapers and signage are the top ways to get the word out on your sale (Editor’s Note: you can advertise a garage sale free right on AcrossNorthHills.com). Remember to find out what your borough’s signage laws are before you go stapling signs to telephone poles. You don’t want to break any laws or your garage sale money will be sued for paying tickets. The telephone companies own the telephone poles and not the township or borough.
Generally, the telephone companies will only remove signs from a pole when they are servicing it. Although, I have heard that sometimes they will remove signs if a popular pole gets a little to papered over and they happen to see it. To my knowledge, most boroughs will leave telephone pole signs alone unless they become clearly distracting.
In any case, have plenty of signs, on every street corner if possible, and if allowable by your borough (just remember to take them down after the sale). Bright neon colored paper with big bold black writing is the way to go. You want the customers to find your garage without any problems. Make it as easy for them as you can. Naturally, you want the address and maybe an arrow pointing which way to go. Be sure you signs don’t get turned in a funny direction from poor stapling, wind or whatever.
Pricing
Pricing your items would be the next most important thing. Every item should have a price sticker of some sort on it. If you are doing a color code system make sure there are plenty of visible signs telling everyone what the code means (i.e., red dots = $2). Don’t over price your items and let people haggle you down a little. The idea is you were probably going to throw the stuff away or donate it to the Goodwill anyway, so if you make $5.00 on an item instead of $10.00 you are still making something on it.
Have cash on hand
Having enough change on hand is very important. You don’t want to have to turn away perspective buyers because you cannot break a twenty. A good rule of thumb is at the very least have a roll of quarters, dimes, and nickels, forty one dollar bills, a few fives, and a couple of tens. Just presume that people are going to buy $3 items with a twenty dollar bill. Also if possible make sure you have another person helping you—so if you do in fact run out of smaller bills they can run to the bank for you.
Keep an eye on your stuff
If you are selling small and or expensive items, make sure to position them close to you and away from the street. Keep an eye on them as much as you can. That way no one can just walk off with them. The closer they are to the street and the further they are away from you the easier it is for someone to just snatch up your items.
Make sure your money is secure. You want to be able to be mobile with it, so if someone has a question another person isn’t able to just walk off with your profits. If you are making a good deal of money, try to stash some in the house every so often. That way if something does happen you wouldn’t lose everything. That is another reason it would be wise to recruit some of your family or friends to help you with the sale. Someone can always be with the money while others help customers and watching the goods. You can tell them that they can bring their stuff to sell too.
Make your stuff noticeable
Make your items appealing to the eye. Don’t just jumble everything on one table. Neatness counts when it comes to bargain hunters. Hang up, fold neatly and arrange clothing by size; position tables so everything can be seen easily. If people see you take care of the stuff you are getting rid of they will presumably be more willing to make the purchase than if you just had everything heaped in a junk pile.
Can people get your stuff home?
It seems like nowadays people are taking their canvas shopping bags everywhere with them. I know I take mine every time I go to Target or the Giant Eagle. But you have to think about those people out there that might not be into bringing their own bag. Make sure you have a small stockpile of bags for your customers. Think of it this way: if they have a bag to carry your goodies home in, they might just buy more.
Hours
Have bargain hours. Make signs that tell what items will be on special during what hour. For example, from “10-11AM, Books, buy one get one half priced” or “ 11-Noon, Electronics 10% off.” The little extra incentives will bring in more people and it will help you get rid of more of your stuff than if you just sold everything at the same price all day long. You have to remember your customers will most likely go home and tell others about your sale if you have little extras available for them.
Calling it a day
And lastly, have a plan on what you will do with all of the stuff you don’t sell. I suggest taking it to the Goodwill or Salvation Army or some other charitable cause. Depending on what you have left over, you might get a tax deduction if you donate it. Just don’t bring the leftovers back into the house. Make your plan and stick to it.
Nicole Sebula is a contirbuing writer to AcrossRoss. Learn more about Nicole at her writing website: blueeyeswriting.blogspot.com. Nicole is the also the author of soon-to-be-released book, My Crazy Life.
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